How to become a hypnotherapist

So you want to know how to become a hypnotherapist ?  It’s an ambition which many people have but lots of people simply don’t know where to start.  In this blog we will go over the things you need to know.

How to become a hypnotherapist – Training

The first thing you will need to do is get some training, and this is usually the biggest challenge because you will need to find a reputable institution … the question is how? So here is what you need to check

1. Do they provide an externally validated qualification. This should be simple but unfortunately many schools pretend to have a such a qualification but upon checking into it you find out that actually it is just a qualification which is validated by an awarding body which the organisation themselves have set up. This can be hard to spot at first glance, but take a look and sometimes it becomes obvious. In the UK the best way is to go directly to an awarding body such as the National Council for Hypnotherapy who award qualification but don’t actually run them ( see NCH Accreditied schools for a list of externally validated schools)
2. How much face-to-face contact will you get? Anything less than 100 hours face to face time and you should just move on. If it is an online or distance course just forget it, hypnotherapy is a practical skill and although you can learn a lot of theory over skype you still need to learn what to do with real people, in the same room.
3. Can you get there? Getting to a course can be problematic but be wary of going to a course you are not confident in just because it is close, this could be saving hassle and expense at the cost of actually learning.
4. Cost however is a different subject. The hypnotherapy training market is highly competitive which benefits the student as they may get high quality training at an affordable price.

How to become a hypnotherapist – legal

As a hypnotherapist you are going to need a few things before you practice

1. Insurance – Public liability & professional indemnity.  These usually come as a package, which a reputable training course will direct you to. Normally they are quite inexpensive, usually coming in at less than £100.00 per year for a hypnotherapists trained by a recognised institution.
2. Know your Data protection – again most reputable training centres will cover this as part of training. Remember, as a therapist you will be handling and storing sensitive data and as such should follow the relevant guidance.  Go to Gov. data protection act  for more info.
3. Be especially aware of your safeguarding responsibilities if you plan to work with children. Go to Safeguaring of the young

How to become a hypnotherapist  – Setting up a practice

Ok so you are trained, you have the skills, your insured and know what your legal responsibilities are, you probably want some clients now? Ok you will need

1. A room – for most people renting a room in a therapy centre can be a great way to start. The over heads may be high but actually for the first little while you are still learning and being surrounded by other therapist’s in different disciplines can help you to get ideas and a little support. many people practice form their home office, and if you have a quiet room, preferably with a lot of natural light this can be fine, but first consider how the room you are using will appear to clients. when starting out be wary of renting an expensive office, get to know the business a bit first as an office can be a substantial over head.
2. A phone number – Preferably one dedicated to your hypnotherapy business as this will allow you to answer it as a business and you will always know that it is a business call when it comes in. Get a diversion service so that this can be redirected to your mobile when you are away.
3. Some clients – this is the most important a trickiest bit. Put together a marketing plan and be prepared to work.

You will need a website, and some way of promoting it. You may also want to join one of the directories which promotes hypnotherapy, probably the best of which in the UK is  hypnotherapy directory .

• You may also wish to use Facebook paid services, google ads, linked in and develop an SEO strategy for the long term.
• Public talks at local events, groups, meetups are a rich source of clients as people will often come up to you at the end as ask if you can treat such and such a condition, so be available and have your diary with you.
• Paper adverts have become a lot less popular in recent years but many people use local free directories, my experience is that the more local the publication is the more likely people are to look at it and see your advert.

Eventually you will build up a lot of word of mouth business from former clients who talk about how good you are to their friends, you will still have to market your services but the number of clients you get for the time and money you invest will get much better.